Banks County residents will be paying more for county water as of Jan. 1. The board of commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday night to increase the water rates by .25 cents per 1,000 gallons used. The proposal was to increase the rate by .50 cents per 1,000 gallons used but the BOC decided to go with the lower increase.
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An energy plant that operates poultry-litter fueled power plants is considering locating in Banks County. The Banks County Board of Commissioners and the Banks County Development Authority jointly announced Wednesday morning that Fibrowatt, LLC has chosen Banks County as a finalist for location of a carbon neutral renewable energy power plant.

Fibrowatt LLC is owned by Homeland Renewable Energy of Pennsylvania. Fibrominn, the nation’s first plant of this kind, opened in Benson, Minnesota, in 2007, and it was a $200 million project which provided 100 jobs to the community.
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A motion to cut the county funds allocated to the chamber of commerce by $10,000 ended in a split vote Monday night with the Banks County Board of Commissioners instead agreeing to reduce the budget by $5,000.
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The economic downturn continues to affect decisions at the local level as the Banks County Board of Commissioners pored over a tentative estimated 2011 budget during three work sessions since last week.
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The Banks County Board of Commissioners is apparently facing a lawsuit or planning to file one. The board met in closed session for 30 minutes in an April 27 meeting to discuss “possible litigation.” No action was taken when the meeting was opened to the public and no information was given on the possible lawsuit.

All of Banks County’s planning and zoning related ordinance and codes are being updated and combined into one unified development code. This includes zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, street name and house numbering guidelines, sign regulations, manufactured home/RV park regulations, soil erosion and sedimentation control, watershed protection requirements and flood damage prevention.
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